On my way

[Etrian]

76th of Summer, 512 AV Early morning The Unforgiving. Aptly named, Zorias decided. He shuddered to think what it would be like to have to go through and over those mountains. Ugh. He had been sticking to the coast of the Suvan Sea, and area that was considerably less... mountainous. He uncoiled, yawning. Shifting experimentally, he discovered he had finished digesting that doe from a few days back. He had time, he decided. It was still early, and he was in the mood to hunt. Taking down the camouflage tarp, he quickly bundled his rucksack and backpack into it, tied it all together, and hid it under a bush. He marked a nearby tree with his spear, and started off. Zor kept to the ground, his tongue flicking out occasionally. He caught the scent of some small game, but honestly, chasing after a rabbit was not his idea of fun. He circled back, not wanting to go too far from his equipment, and paused. Flicking his tongue out agin, he smiled. A big turkey hen, from the smell of it. Turkey in the morning. Sounded good. Following the scent, Zor soon spotted other signs of the turkey. A few holes and scratches in the ground where the bird tried to find food, a print or two, droppings left behind, all signs he was getting close. He saw the turkey after a few chimes, scratching at the roots of a tree. He slithered closer to the turkey, turned around, and gave it a hard whack with his tail. He was too slow, however, and only clipped it's leg. The bird shrieked, and took flight. Zorias swore, and, raising himself as high as possible, jabbed his spear at the turkey. It impaled one wing, and the creature tumbled down. He snatched it up, looking around. The disturbance they'd caused might attract scavengers looking for an early meal. He slithered back to his equipment, and, unhinging his jaw, swallowed the bird whole. Untying the tarp, he quickly repacked it in his bag. Now that the sun was high in the sky, it was time to get going. He had quite a bit to go before he'd reach Alvadas.

[Etrian]

Mid-day Alright, so maybe he was closer to Alvadas that he'd expected, unless slavers were now migrating farther from cities. Either ways, it was none of his business, really. He had no desire to get involved with slavers, or end up caged by them. He was about to go around when he froze in shock. Over on the side, huddled in a cage, was a small Dhani. No tail club, though. A viper, or a constrictor. Not one of his kind. That one would kill him if he could, no doubt, and Zor would do the same. Under any other circumstances. Yet... Zor cursed under his breath. Stupid stupid stupid. But he would do it anyways. No Dhani, not even a viper or constrictor, deserved a life of slavery. There were fewer slavers than he would expect from a camp like this. There were two that he could see, one cooking, one perched up in the trees. Smart. But that appeared to be all. The others would be out hunting or scouting, he guessed. Not that it really mattered. Moving a safe distance away, Zorias quickly pulled off his backpack and rucksack. He pulled out his rope and grappling hook, tied on his bladed cloak, and quickly tested the edges. Licking the blood off his finger, he coated each blade with a thin layer of weapon tarnish, before replacing the small jar in his backpack and bundling up everything in the tarp again. Hiding it under a large bush again, he carefully bent the bush a little so it would completely hide his bundle from sight. Careful to keep out of sight of the guards, Zor swung the grappling hook around his head. Releasing, he watched it soar up, bounce off the tree trunk, and come crashing down. Dropping the rope, he backed off, hoping the guard had heard. Luck was with him today, and he saw the guard turn sharply (or so it seemed. Heat outlines could be misleading.) The man seemed to hesitate for a moment, before beginning to climb down the tree he was perched in. He had to say, the guard was good. He wouldn't have seen the man if it wasn't for his heat vision, and the slight rustling of leaves as the man descended could be easily dismissed as a small animal. Finally the man dropped down to the forest floor, and made his way over to where Zor's grappling hook had dropped down. He knelt down, looking not down, but up. Pulling out his crossbow, the slaver loaded it carefully, scanning the treetop. Zorias cursed inwardly, realizing his mistake. The man was still too far, and with that crossbow..... Only one thing to do. Carefully extending his tail to the side, he thumped his club on the ground, before quickly retracting it. Just in time too. A crossbow bolt slammed into the ground where his tail had just been, and Zor hissed. The man seemed to pause, then approached the bush carefully. Yes! Just a little bit closer... just a little... When the man came in range, Zor struck. Lunging forward, he thrust his spear at the man's chest, taking advantage of his lower position to slip the blade upwards into the man's heart. Pulling it out, he let the man collapse. Slithering out of his hiding place, he frowned. He had wanted the man to be bait out here. Why wasn't he screaming? The man hacked up blood, and moaned weakly. Zor blinked. That was fast. He must have missed the heart and stabbed a lung by accident. The man's death was going to be long and painful. Oops.